Brown student protesters decamp from College Green

Brown University student protesters packed up their tents and peacefully left the College Green Tuesday afternoon, leaving behind lemon yellow patches of grass as a souvenir of their week of solidarity with the people of Gaza.

The exodus came after students reached an agreement with the administration to refrain from further protests through the rest of the academic year. Brown President Christina H. Paxson shared details on the pact with the Brown Divest Coalition in a message to the campus at around 3 p.m.

Students began to evacuate promptly after Paxson’s meeting with protest leaders even though university officials had given them until 5 p.m. to clear the area they had occupied since April 24. The Brown Divest Coalition wanted “an immediate, permanent cease-fire and lasting peace in Palestine,” and for Brown to divest its endowment from companies affiliated with the Israeli government.  

Although no tents were standing by 4:30 p.m., blue tarps, a bucket of rope, a cooler and sleeping bags lingered in a pile on a sidewalk outside the green. Police were not present, aside from a squad car parked at the far edge of the green. Three broadcast reporters were left alone to do their standups for the evening news.

The placid visual contrasted with scenes on college campuses elsewhere, including Columbia University in New York City, where pro-Palestinian protesters stormed a building and, according to a university spokesperson, broke windows and blockaded entrances.

About 1,200 arrests have been reported on college campuses across the country amid escalating demonstrations against the Israel-Hamas war. There were 79 arrests reported at a pro-Palestinian demonstration at the University of Texas at Austin. At the University of Utah, 150 police arrived and ultimately arrested 17 students — some of them tackled, or pushed against asphalt. The University of New Mexico saw one student protester sprayed with chemicals, another tackled, and five tents destroyed. Six students were arrested at Tulane University. All these incidents were reported on Tuesday, April 30.

Paxson’s message said five students will be invited to meet and argue their case with five members of the Corporation of Brown University, its governing body, in May. Additionally, Paxson will ask the Advisory Committee on University Resources Management to provide a recommendation on the divestment request by Sept. 30; the request will be brought to the Corporation for a vote at its October 2024 meeting.

Any students charged with involvement in the encampment and associated activities that violate conduct codes will not be subject to suspension or expulsion, provided they abide by the terms of the agreement. Paxson acknowledged that the encampment violated a range of university policies but stated its closure “will be viewed favorably in disciplinary proceedings.” 

Charges have not been dropped, however, for the 41 students with the Brown Divest Coalition who were arrested last fall on separate trespassing charges.  

The agreement also makes clear that reports of bias, harassment or discrimination received during the encampment will continue to be investigated. In addition, if the University receives new information about any conduct violations related to or following the encampment, students won’t be exempt from conduct proceedings for those violations.

“I have been concerned about the escalation in inflammatory rhetoric that we have seen recently, and the increase in tensions at campuses across the country,” Paxson’s letter reads. “I appreciate the sincere efforts on the part of our students to take steps to prevent further escalation.”

Students agreed to end the encampment and cease any further violations of Brown’s conduct code through the end of the academic year, which includes Commencement and Reunion Weekend May 24-26.

The Brown Daily Herald student newspaper had reported that the university said that its endowment is not directly invested in weapons manufacturers. But student protesters have also singled out Corporation Trustee Maria Zuber, who serves on the board of Textron, a conglomerate whose portfolio includes weapons manufacture. Textron saw protestors outside the doors of its Providence offices starting last fall.   

“Even with this agreement, there remain many differences within our community about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. These differences have been heightened in the months since October 7…The devastation and loss of life in the Middle East has prompted many to call for meaningful change, while also raising real issues about how best to accomplish this,” Paxson wrote.